Alnuaimi, A S; Taha, R A; Al Mohsin, M and Al-Harthi, A S (2010) Causes, effects, benefits, and remedies of change orders on public construction projects in Oman. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(5), pp. 615-622. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Change orders are usually issued to cover variations in scope of work, material quantities, design errors, and unit rate changes. This paper discusses variations in public construction projects in Oman by investigating causes of variations, studying their effects on the project, identifying the beneficial parties, and suggesting remedies to alleviate related problems. Tasks included an analysis of four actual case studies and conducting a field survey via a questionnaire. It was determined that the client's additional works and modifications to design were the most important factors causing change orders, followed by the nonavailability of construction manuals and procedures. The most important effects of change orders on the project were found to be the schedule delays, disputes, and cost overruns. The contractor was found to be the party most benefiting from the change orders followed by the consultant and then the client. A set of remedial actions were suggested and respondents viewed that the revision of registration of consulting offices would be the most important action followed by establishing standard documents for design procedures and building a national database about soil conditions and services.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | case studies; change order; change orders; cost overrun; costs; delay; delay time; Oman; project completion; project management |
| Index terms: | unit rate, survey, variation, documents, questionnaire, Oman, cost overrun, dispute, database, change order, schedule delay, case study, design error, project management, public construction |
| Subjects: | dispute resolution, data collection methods, professional practice, financial and cost management, Geography, contractual condition, professional development, project management theory and practice, project controls, data management, building construction |
| Topics: | Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Cost Management, Contract Administration, Time Control, Design Practice, Legal Issues, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here